Pat-
  To answer your question, the factory was indeed converted into a
house.  It was a one-and-a-half story brick structure.  Ben Schroeder
had begun his saddletree manufacturing business in 1878.  All aspects
of the operation were conducted in and around this building.
   In 1881, a frame vat house was added along the northern elevation of
the structure.  He married Elizabeth Backus in 1882.  An insurance policy
from 1885 described a new one-story frame structure north of the vat
house, identified as "the saddle tree shop."  We believe that the
renovation of the house and the construction of the new shop occurred
at about the same time.  However, it isn't until the 1897 Sanborn map that
we have conclusive evidence that the original factory structure was
being used as a dwelling.
   There are other interesting aspects to the story of the house.  As the
family grew (the Schroeders had nine children), additional space was
needed.  An ell was added to the southern elevation sometime before the
1897 Sanborn and the vat house was replaced with a two-story addition
in February 1903.
   Flooding was a chronic problem at the site.  The house and factory
buildings are located on a very narrow strip of land, sandwiched
between a steep bluff and Crooked Creek.  Etching on the side of the
southern ell indicated a high water mark of four feet above the current
ground surface following the flood of June 1903.
   Documents in the archival collection indicated that after this event a
contractor took down the central portion of the house (the original
factory structure) and poured 32" of concrete on top of the limestone
foundation.  The house was then rebuilt at this higher elevation re-using
all the old materials.  Can you imagine what Elizabeth had to contend with
during this construction?  Raising so many children in a house that had
northern and southern sections but no middle?  Quite an amazing story,
but then all indications are that the Schroeders were pretty amazing
people.
Regards,
Debbie Rotman
Ball State University